"Julian?" I whispered and took in my surroundings.

I was in an unfamiliar room on a bed with a dark, grey comforter. The entire room was decorated in grey, black, and white, and there was a skylight above the bed that allowed the moonlight to shine through.

"You better not die on me ever again," Julian threatened, his tone joking. His voice sounded more enticing than I remembered, and everything about him drew me into him even more. His brown eyes were hypnotizing, making this all feel like a dream.

When I tore my eyes from his, it suddenly all clicked, snapping me to reality.

"I'm—I'm alive?" I asked, confused. "But how?"

"Tristan tried to bring you back to life, but it didn't work. We thought that it was just too late. He tried to talk to you on the other side, but it was like you weren't there either. Then I remembered that I gave you my blood when you were thrown against the wall, which means—"

"I'm a vampire?" I finished his sentence.

Vampire.

The realization hit me. I was no longer human. I wasn't sure I would ever make the choice to turn, but with that choice made for me, I wasn't sure how I felt about it all. I would live forever without ever seeing my family again. I would live forever like Julian. I would have to drink blood to survive. I began to feel my face, then mouth to check for fangs.

"It doesn't work that way," Julian chuckled. "But yes, you are. My blood turned you when you died. That's why Tristan's powers didn't work on you."

"I remembered the King saying something about how Tristan would be able to talk to Eretria on the other side if he killed her. He can talk to the dead too?" I sat up more.

"Yeah, he can."

Maybe he could talk to my family...

"I'm sure he would if you asked him to." Julian gave me a reassuring smile and put his hand on mine.

It felt like electricity was shooting up my arm, but in a good way. The feeling nearly took my breath away; I took in a sharp intake of air. My eyes immediately locked with his to see if he felt it too. He was breathing hard and clutching chest. I knew then that it wasn't just me.

A magnetic force was pulling me towards him. Butterflies raged in my stomach as I slowly got closer to him. Just when I got only an inch from his face, Julian grabbed the back of my neck and crashed his lips against mine. That feeling came back from when we kissed the first time, but it was more intense and more addicting. It was like fireworks exploded behind my eyes, and it felt like the sun itself was burning between us. My hands reached up from his chest to around his neck, making the kiss deepen.

Julian pulled away only inches from my face. His brown eyes stayed on mine as I was trying to catch my breath. All I could think about is how I could drown in those honey-brown irises. His hand slid from behind my neck to my cheek, and with every movement, a tingling sensation would follow.

Julian's eyes searched mine and widened. "Soulmates," Julian whispered, bewildered. He looked at me with such intensity, and I could somehow feel it—love and wonder.

"Did you say soulmates?" I asked, surprised.

"I never thought I would find mine, and you were here this entire time." Julian raised his eyebrows in disbelief and continued to stroke my cheek.

"This is what it feels like to have a soulmate?" I reached my hand up in awe, trailing it along his jaw.

He nodded and leaned into my hand. "It's because you were human before. Only vampires can feel it. Everything is heightened with our species."

I thought back to our encounters when I was human, and I remembered feeling something I couldn't put into words. "I did feel this when I was human. I felt it when we kissed... and danced. It just wasn't as intense as...this. This whole time I had feelings for you, even though I barely knew you. Even when I was with Tristan, I couldn't get you out of my head. I felt... drawn to you."

Julian suddenly pulled me back into him, kissing me passionately. As he pulled away again, he rested his forehead against mine and whispered, "It really was my lucky day—to find you in those woods."

"It was mine too. A self-obsessed vampire almost ate me."

Julian chuckled and sat back. "I am not self-obsessed," he defended and held his chest like I just stabbed him in the heart.

I teased, "That's what you got out of what I just said? Oh, yeah. Definitely self-obsessed."

We broke out into a fit laughter as Olivia walked in, followed by Celine and Queen Aurora. They all looked exhausted.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Olivia gave me a warm smile and glanced between me and Julian. "I hope we weren't interrupting anything."

"Nope. Just Julian here being self-obsessed," I giggled.

He shot daggers at me. "I am not."

"Sorry to break it to you, but you are a little, mon couer," Queen Aurora chimed in.

This made us all laugh except Julian, of course. I glanced over at him, and just looking at his face caused my heart to flutter. This soulmate bond was like nothing I've ever experienced.

The Queen eyed me weirdly and then looked at Julian.

"You found your soulmate?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

I looked at her surprised and confused on how she would know.

Like she read my mind, she explained, "I can feel your emotions, remember? The bond is a strong one." She turned to Julian. "Oh, I'm so happy that you found your other half! I was starting to get worried that your personality was going to scare people away." She hugged Julian and squeezed him tight; he looked both annoyed and happy. I could tell he had a soft spot for her. He didn't even try to be snarky about her comment.

She pulled away and then gave me a hug. "How do you feel?" She asked in a motherly tone.

"Umm. Actually pretty good for someone who just died. I've never felt this great."

"It's a vampire thing," Celine said excitedly. "Oh my God, Eclair! You're a vampire now! We get to be friends for eternity!" She ran over and gave me a quick hug too.

Julian raised his eyebrows. "Eclair?"

"Don't even start," I gave him a warning look then whispered to Celine. "You weren't supposed to say that in front of him, remember?"

"Sorry!" She cackled. "And I'm sorry our masquerade was ruined."

"That's okay," I shrugged. "We will just have to go to a real prom to make up for it."

Celine's face dropped. "But...I can't, Claire. I'm engaged. I can't leave here."

"Celine, ma chérie," the Queen rested her hand on her shoulder. "You can do anything you want. You don't have to marry him anymore."

"But—Papa—"

"He's not here anymore. Your brother is going be our King now, and he will only want the best for you. If you want to explore the world when we reveal ourselves, then you are free to do so," she replied, resting her hand on Celine's cheek.

Celine let out a small scream and jumped up and down before hugging her mom, then me again. "Ah! We can go to a real prom!"

"And you can experience your own fairytale, love story," I suggested with a big smile.

This excited her even more. She began to ramble to her mom about the things in the human world.

During my conversation with Celine and her mom, Julian slipped out for a moment to deal with something. I looked over to see Olivia, looking as serious as ever while watching me.

"Sorry about the dress," I mumbled, ready for her wrath.

It's okay. I'm just happy you are alright," Olivia sighed and crossed her arms. "I'll just have to make everyones' outfits non-destructible from now on." We both laughed.

I looked at Celine and her mom, who were laughing about something Celine said. I thought back to a vision I had about her when Eretria and Tristan were at a ball, and she had sadness in her eyes as she sat next to the King. It kind of made sense now that King Gabriel wasn't a good man. I could have seen that all along if I would have really paid attention. All the signs were there. Who knows how he was with her behind closed doors.

Olivia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "So, I guess you made your choice?"

I exhaled loudly. "I honestly don't think there ever was a choice. I think it was always him. Fate just had a weird way of showing me and bringing us together."

"Yeah, fate sometimes has a strange way of doing things," Olivia agreed, pushing some of her short, red hair out of her face. "I'm glad that everyone got a happy ending though."

"Yeah, me too." A smile tugged at my lips.